General Rules on Using Environment Variables

In the pkginfo file, a variable definition is of the form PARAM=value, where the first letter of PARAM is an uppercase letter. These variables are evaluated only at install time, and if any cannot be evaluated, the pkgadd command will abort with an error.

In the prototype file, a variable definition can take the form !PARAM=value or $variable. Both PARAM and variable can begin with either an uppercase or lowercase letter; however, only variables whose values are known at build time will be evaluated. This means that if PARAM or variable is a build or install variable whose value is not known at build time, the pkgmk command will abort with an error.

You can also include the option PARAM=value as an option to the pkgmk command. This option works the same as in the prototype file, except that its scope is global to the entire package. The !PARAM=value definition in a prototype file is local to that file and the part of the package it defines.

If PARAM is an install variable, and variable is an install or build variable with a known value, the pkgmk command inserts the definition into the pkginfo file so that it will be available at install time. However, it will not evaluate PARAM in any path names specified in the prototype file.